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February 26, 2012

My brother Justin just accepeted a new job that is in Salt Lake City. He will be moving down there this coming weekend. Although it will be really sad to see him go, I am happy for him. New beginnings are always good. He needs it right now too. I wish him all the best.
Since this was his last Sunday dinner with us we all met up at my parents house for a pizza party. My mom and grandma made a ton of homemade pizzaas and all the families from both sides showed up. It was a party too. It was nice to see everyone. The kids all played well together. Ellie was really tired so she wasn't the quietest but it was a nice evening.
We are going to miss you Justin! We wish you all the luck. We will come soon to visit!!!! We love you!!!!!

This is our little family. I am the oldest, then Justin and then my sister Rachel.﻿

This is really embarrassing to admit, but I have only been to McCall maybe 3 times in my entire life. Which is really sad. McCall is only 2 hours away and it is amazingly beautiful. McCall is a ski resort town. It is nestled up in the moutains and it is was just beautiful. I have always heard about how much fun it is to go up there in the summer time too. We will have to make it back there again. Soon!!!
Our good friends the Andreason's invited us up to McCall for the weekend. We used to be in the same ward and out kids used to play together, but since the ward changed and kids grew up and kind of apart, it was nice to get back in touch. All of our children are roughly the same age too so it was nice. Everyone one had someone to play with. Casey is a PA and the doctor he works for owns a cabin up in McCall and allows them to use it whenever they want. This weekend was a great time to get away too. Ellie had been sick and pretty fussy and we just needed a change of scenery. It was the perfect getaway.
We headed up on Friday night after we picked Keaton up from school. The car trip up there was not the best. Owen, before we left had chugged an entire mini bottle of chocolate milk and some gummy worms. Lance and I knew that there would be a possiblity of someone puking so we tried to prepare ourselves, with a subway bag? So we started on our trip and all was fine and dandy until Owen started to get that look in his eyes and I looked at him and asked if he was going to throw up and he shook his head yes and so I reached for that subway bag just in time. He filled it completely full. He puked all the milk and half eaten worms that he didn't care to chew up. I was so grossed out. It was all over him and all over me. So Lance was kind to pull over so we could get things cleaned up. It was bad but not as bad as it could have been had I not grabbed that bag on time. So we cleaned him up and were on our way.
McCall was covered in snow. It was freezing cold. The wind blew nonstop and it snowed off and one the entire time. It was beautiful!
We brought up our 4-wheeler and sleds so Lance could pull the kids behind it. It was a hit. They had a lot of fun. Besides some kids falling off, freezing to death and getting tipped over they had a blast. Owen, well he was content to stay indoors and watch with Ellie and I from the window. He wasn't much into playing in the snow.
Usually when we go on trips, my kids don't sleep well. They are up and moving around and no one sleeps. Well I am happy to report that they all slept really well. That made the vacation worth it. Thanks kids!!!!
The cabin we stayed in was amazing. It was brand new and all the furnishings were top notch. Very nice. It was a very comfortable place to stay. I got to find out where they bought their mattresses because I never slept so well.
Ellie did great. She was content the entire time. She is over her earaches, her 4 teeth on top have broken through and she has pooped once again so all is well. We are back to normal. Whatever normal is.
They kids all played so well together. There was a Wii there so Andrew was in heaven. We only let them play a little bit because it started to cause fights over who beat who and whose turn it was. So little time was spent on that. But overall, I would have to say it was a nice vacation. The food was great too! Thanks Andreason's! We had a great time. Let's do that again soon!!!!

February 22, 2012

I have always been the one to set goals alittle above and beyond at the start of every New Year. Most years, I have already forgotten about them and give up. Not this year. This year I have dedicated it to being more healthy, more fit, and happier. So far so good. I am happy to report that I am still doing what I set out to do.
I have set the goal to be happier, healthier and more productive in my spare time. I am really working on the healthier part right now and I have found that the other two just seem to fall into place, which makes that much easier.
I have been working out almost every day besides Sunday. Saturdays are hard too but I do find time to get something in. I joined a fitness challenge with some of my good friends and it has been so much fun working out with them. We meet down out church 3 days out of the week for yoga, pilates, weights, cardio and sometimes Zumba. We have had a lot of fun doing it together. Everyone put in $10 each and the winner gets all. We are on a point system and at the end of each week we turn in out points. Our challenge will end the minddle of March. I hope we will start it back up again after it is over for another one. It has really been more motivating to do it with others as well.
I am happy to report that I am down almost 10 lbs. since we started. I sometimes look in the mirror and wonder where it has gone but I feel it. There is still more improvement that needs to come but I am on my way. I have started to run in the mornings. Lance is kind enough to stay behind and watch the kids for me while I run. I used to laugh at all the people I would see running. Now I am the one running. I am not completely in love with it but it is refreshing to get out and be by myself for a little bit.
When it happens, it is going to be grand!!!!! Now don't get me wrong, I was not really heavy to start with. I just have had a lot of baby fat to get rid of.
I have had 5 babies in the last 8 years. Crazy to think that our family has gotten so big. We are loving it. But we are so tired too. Night time around our home, well, I won't talk about it because it only makes me more tired.

We have still been teaching our oils classes and it has been so much fun. We are seeing more new faces and more and more people are curious about them. I finally reached a certain point in the buisness where I am making enough money to cover my oils and then some. That has been a huge stepping stone for me. It only encourages me to do it more to make more money.
Lance is starting to build homes again. He is loving it. I am loving it too. It is so nice to see him happy doing what he loves most. Don't get me wrong, its not that he wasn't happy before, it's just that he is more happy now because he is back to building. If anyone needs a good builder, call my husband. He builds beautiful homes!

The kids are doing well. Andrew and Keaton are both in school during the day and so it is just Owen, Ellie and I left at home. Some mornings are quite, but most are pretty busy. Owen will be turning three pretty soon so he is always on the move. His passion right now are trains, so every morning we pull out the train set and put it together for him to play with. It never fails.
Ellie is loving solids. Her favorite is squash and pears. I have made all of her baby food this time around. I am not loving how much time and preperation that goes into it but I know that is the healthiest option, so that is what we are doing. She is cutting some more teeth. This time on the top. She is looking more and more grown up. I wish time could freeze for alittle longer at this stage. She is so much fun. The boys just adore her. She laughs her hardest for Keaton. Right now she has kind of a bad cough and runny nose but nothing that we can't handle. I have been using some essential oils and I feel confident in them. She is still not sleeping very well at night. That is about to change once she feels better.

Keaton, he is loving school. Learning so much. He is testing at and above his grade level. He is an excellent reader. He constantly amazes me. He loves to have his friend Logan from across the street come over to play Lego Ninjagos. They could do that all day long. He is a great big brother and a very good helper around the house. But he still has his moments of being snobby. Don't we all though?

Andrew, well can I just say that this child is the one child that keeps me on my toes. He is in preschool right now and just loves it. His teacher is fantastic and he is learning more than I could teach him here at home. His best little friend Tyler is in his group too. We have been good family friendds with Tyler's family for a very long time. They recently have become connected at the hip. They are together every day, whether it is at school or after school playing. They are so cute to watch. They are so much alike. It is so nice to see Andrew have his own friends. For so long he was always in Keaton's shadow, but now he has his own and it is very encouraging to him.
Life is good. The weather was really warm for awhile and then all of sudden winter had decided to turn back around. We are ready for spring/summer. Time to be outside.

February 15, 2012

Yesterday Andrew's preschool had a Valentine's luncheon for the moms. There are about 6 kids in his little preschool group. His teacher, Mrs. Amber is a fantastic teacher who has so much love for teaching and especially for this group of kids. We couldn't have asked for a better teacher than her. Andrew is just in love with her and is always so excited to go each day.
All the moms were invited to come around 11 a.m. and have a lunch they prepared for us. We all showed up and the kids had a little program they prepared for all the moms. It was quite cute. Then we had a brunch and then decorated Valentine sugar cookies with them. It was such a fun morning spending time with just Andrew and be with him in his preschool setting. They were so sweet. Just a cute bunch of kids who get along so well with each other.
Then they gave us a little picture of their profile and a poem. It was the best gift ever! Thanks Andrew!!!! Thanks for being my Valentine!! I love you!!!!!!

February 7, 2012

Ellie gets up mulitple times during the night. She is up between 2-4 times still and is wanting to eat. Silly my, I get up with her and feed her, so it is my fault that I have created a snacker at night. It is so easy to hurry and feed her for 2-3 minutes and go for another 3 hour nap. I can't breing myself to let her cry it out yet.

Ellie LOVES rice cereal. She eats it about twice a day. We are getting ready to introduce her to the world of veggies. I am more dedicated to making her baby food this time around.

She has the chubbiest cheeks ever. Just makes you want to squeeze and kiss them all day long.

She is able to sit on her own.

She hates tummy time.

She can't turn over yet. She is so close.

She is in the stranger danger mode.

She loves to be where everyone else is. She doesn't like to be alone.

She takes 3 naps still during the day.

Loves being outside.

She has two teeth and a few more trying to come through. Thankfully she has bitten me yet while nursing.

She has the biggest, brightest blue eyes ever!

She refuses a pacifier.

She has found a few fingers now and then to suck on.

She just discovered she has ears and plays with them alot.

Likes to play with her own feet. Occassionally she bends down to suck on them. Gross! At least her feet are always covered with socks, so they are pretty clean.

Keaton can really make her laugh. Her laugh is fun.

Loves bathtime.

Still goes to bed at 6 p.m.. Makes it hard to do anything in the evenings. We are pretty much home all the time so that is not much of a problem.

Her smile is contagious.

She is getting better about being in her carseat.

There are so many more fun things about her that I LOVE so much. Still can't believe that she is 6 months old already.

My niece Olivia turned 1 on January 27th. We went over for her little birthday party. It was a fun little get together. I can't believe how fast that year went. Seems like he was just born. She is such a sweet girl! Thanks Olivia for being so sweet. My boys just love her and it is so much fun to see Olivia and Ellie together. They are almost the same size. Olivia thinks of Ellie as a big doll. She always wants to hug her and she pats her back. It is so sweet to watch. Happy 1st birthday Olivia! We love you!